DORIS UZOKA-ANITE DENIES BUDGET PROPOSAL OF N1.6 BILLION FOR INTERNATIONAL TRIP

Doris Uzoka-Anite, the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Investment, has refuted reports that N1.6 billion of the ministry’s proposed 2024 budget was set aside for a trip to Switzerland.

Remember that Uzoka-Anite faced questions on Tuesday when she went before the Joint Committee on Trade and Investment of the National Assembly to defend the budget plan for her ministry for 2024?

Following the budget figures’ presentation, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North, and a committee member questioned a line item in the proposed budget that allots N1 billion for a single trip to Geneva.

Toluwase Moyan, the minister’s spokesperson, clarified the matter in a statement on Wednesday, saying that the projected budget was set aside for the upkeep of the nation’s trade office in Geneva, Switzerland.

The minister refuted any accusations of a foreign trip to Geneva or the general public being mentioned in the ministry’s planned budget, stating that the ministry is dedicated to responsibility and caution.

Uzoka-Anite went on to say that Nigeria, a major player in international trade, needs to keep an office in Geneva where its multilateral trade interests would be represented and upheld.

The statement reads: “We wish to categorically state that there is no line item in the proposed budget of the federal ministry of industry, trade, and investment referring to ANY ‘Foreign Trip to Geneva’. “Rather, the only mention of ‘Geneva’ in the proposed budget is with respect to the maintenance of the Nigerian Trade Office in Geneva, captured as ‘External Trade Sector, Geneva (WTO)’, which may have been misconstrued as ‘Foreign Trip to Geneva’. “In fact, the total amount (for NIGERIA’S TRADE OFFICE IN GENEVA) in the appropriation for 2024 is N1,610,183,599 with the breakdown as follows: Personnel Cost, N805, 379, 820; Overhead, N204, 058, 434; Capital, N600, 745, 345. “In fact, the current debt owed by the Nigeria Trade Office in Geneva as captured in the budget is N499,000,000.00, and it was deemed necessary to propose a budget that will service Nigeria’s outstanding debts in Geneva and maintain Nigeria’s respect and global standing amongst the comity of nations.”